Industry Reborn

 With the nationwide shift away from domestic manufacturing and outsourcing manual labor, the disappearance of middle class jobs from the American economy is a significant issue. James Fallows of The Atlantic breaks down three trends that point toward an increase in high tech manufacturing in America: less international manufacturing, new middle class jobs, and a future decrease in arguments over taxes and regulations.

According to Fallows' article, the categories of industries that will grow most quickly will be those whose consumers and producers are in the same country instead of separated by oceans. This is partially because global supply chains have been expanded too far, which leaves countries susceptible to disruptions in supply or problems with quality that are on the other side of the world and difficult to mend. Additionally, the more valuable the product the less important the cost of production is, which means that high quality products can be made in the United States, which also fulfills an important void in the design process. the closer a producer is to the consumer, the easier it is for designers to get a better sense for the market and its taste for products, which makes the cycle shorter for new product creation.

New jobs for the middle class will likely be in technical or engineering sectors. Since production is so robotized, industrial jobs will consist of servicing professionals, designers, and software engineers. These jobs require an undergraduate degree, but not usually a graduate degree, which is the level of education that most middle class Americans have, and have higher starting hourly wages. Many industries, like the automotive industry, will need people skilled in many different fields, like mechanical, electronic, and chemical systems to handle development of hybrid vehicles. The shortage in these types of jobs will create an open spot in the economy, and is why there is such a push in STEM fields in today's youth. 

Additionally, there is a shift in young entrepreneurs away from concern about high taxes and other regulations on companies. According to the article, most of them were concerned about finding a streamlined procedure to get their products out to consumers. Their biggest concern? The need to invest in a large amount of inventory to get their products into big-box stores, like Wal Mart and Target. 

This shift toward manufacturing is huge for America's economy, and the fact that the tech sector is responsible for it is a nice boost for the sector's reputation, since the move towards technology has been blamed for the reduction in manufacturing jobs in the US. If Fallows is right, the boost to our economy from this high tech manufacturing will be a welcome one.